Hill’s Back, but Magic Doesn’t Lack for Injury Problems

ORLANDO, Fla. —  All of a sudden, Grant Hill’s health is the least of the Orlando Magic’s problems.

Despite a minor sprain in the team’s preseason finale, the bad ankle that kept the six-time All-Star out of all but four games last year has healed, and he’s been impressive in the preseason. Now, though, injuries across the roster could make it tough for the Magic to turn all their talent into a cohesive team.

Tracy McGrady has lower back problems, Mike Miller broke his right foot, Patrick Ewing hurt a hamstring, Andrew DeClercq sprained an ankle and Horace Grant missed an exhibition game with back spasms.

“So far, this preseason has been disappointing for us because of the injuries. I had hoped to be further along,” coach Doc Rivers said. “If we were healthy, we’d have a better feel for where we’re going.”

If Hill, McGrady -- last year’s Most Improved Player -- and offseason acquisitions Ewing and Grant can learn to play together, the Magic have a solid chance of contending for the Eastern Conference championship.

Rivers said the preseason would be crucial for his players because they needed to work together and learn each other’s styles and skills.

“You look at the team and say, ‘Boy, we could be really good,”’ Rivers said. “And then you look at the history and say, ‘It’s going to take us some time to get together as a team.”’

There isn’t a lot of time to prepare, however.

“If you look at the teams in the East that are favored, in addition to us -- Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Toronto -- the one thing they have that we don’t have is that they’ve been together as a unit for at least a year,” Hill said.

“We, as individuals, have a lot of talent and we believe we can win, but as a unit we have to continue to make up that learning curve that the other teams have against us.”

Another factor working against Orlando is a difficult early schedule. The Magic have two long West Coast road trips in the first six weeks.

The injuries haven’t made Rivers’ job easy.

First, the 39-year-old Ewing tweaked his hamstring weeks before training camp opened and re-injured it the first day he practiced. He has played in all of Orlando’s exhibition games but never more than 19 minutes.

Orlando signed Ewing and Grant in part because of their postseason experience. They have appeared in 301 playoff games -- more than three times as many as last season’s entire club.

Grant has four championship rings, earned with Chicago (1991-93) and the Los Angeles Lakers (2001). Ewing, named one of the 50 greatest players by the NBA, led the New York Knicks deep into the playoffs through much of the 1990s.

The injury to the 22-year-old McGrady kept him out of practices and games. It also forced Hill into more of a scoring role when Rivers wanted to develop him as a ballhandler.

Miller -- the Rookie of the Year last season -- broke his right foot in a game Oct. 19, and is expected to miss up to five weeks. The 6-foot-9 Miller was crucial to Rivers’ plan to develop a big lineup where the 6-foot-8 Hill would be the smallest player.

Finally, DeClercq hurt his ankle in the last game of the preseason -- the same night Rivers announced that the 6-foot-10, seven-year veteran would be the starter in the post. DeClercq could be sidelined until mid-November, with Ewing or Don Reid starting in his absence.

Then again, McGrady questions whether Orlando really needs a lot of time to learn to play together.

“I don’t need time with anybody,” said McGrady, seventh in the league last year with a 26.8-point scoring average.